Question: Why does Ahasuerus tell Esther he’ll give her up to 50% of her request?
Key Verses:
2:10 “Esther had not made known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had commanded her that she should not tell it”
5:1 “Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house; and the king say on his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house”
5:3 The king said to unto her: ‘What wilt thou, Queen Esther? For whatever thy request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be given thee’”
5:4 “Esther said: ‘If it is good for the king, the king and Haman will come today to a drinking party I have prepared for him’”
5:8 “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request – let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said”
8:2 ”And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman”
The Conventional Wisdom on Ahasuerus is he’s a nitwit. The commentators say this, but if we look more closely, the text might be telling us something else. This is a man who was the ruler of 127 provinces, the most powerful man on Planet Earth during his lifetime. Perhaps, he might not be the drunken simpleton the Rabbis want us to believe. Nor should it surprise anyone if he was in fact intelligent.
The scene goes as follows beginning with 5:1: Esther approaches the king to see if she can save the Jewish people. She’s taking a substantial risk because if the king decides not to receive her, then it’s an automatic death sentence. She informs Mordecai she hasn’t been summoned or seen by the king in 30 days (4:11). It’s a gamble, but, as Mordecai says (4:13-14), if she doesn’t roll the dice, Haman will slaughter the Jewish people.
Esther calls on the local Jewish community to support her with a three-day fast (4:16) in order to prepare for her potentially fatal unannounced visit. Then she approaches the king on his throne, hoping he will extend his scepter, a sign of approval (5:1). This is what happens (5:2). She won’t be killed. Then Esther tells her powerful husband she has a request.
What is Ahasuerus thinking at this point? Is his wife here to tell him she’s pregnant? Maybe she wants them to go on vacation or redecorate their home. It could be anything. But because of the risk involved with her coming uninvited, he must know that she has something consequential on her mind, bigger than these items. In fact, it has to be huge if she risked her life over it. What could Ahasuerus think Esther wants?
Haman has just received the Prime Ministership (3:1), unchecked use of the royal seal (3:10) and approval of his genocidal edict (3:11). It’s fair to assume Esther knows about all three of these things. Haman’s appointment must have been national news. If that’s what Prime Minister Haman received, then the king must be thinking: “My wife must want something at least as valuable.”
What does the king know about his wife? Mordecai has asked Esther to keep a low profile and not tell anyone she’s Jewish (2:10; 2:20). Because of this, most people conclude nobody knew about her origins and faith. But it seems highly improbable that the king didn’t have a dossier on each of the virgins he had brought to him by his staff. It’s one thing to have a beauty contest, but it’s an entirely different thing to have the candidates considered to become the queen. Certainly he knew of Esther’s origins down to the last detail. For her to become his wife, there had to be a vetting process of sorts, to know about her family and background and ensure there was no danger to the king from a girl with a family opposed to the king. Back then, family origins would have been even more important in a marriage than today. If this assumption is true, how could Ahasuerus authorize Haman’s genocide against the Jewish people?
Two possible reasons are viable. The first is Ahasuerus never considered Haman would show up at the palace demanding Esther be turned over to him to then murder. That would never happen. She had immunity as the queen, assuming Haman ever learned she was Jewish, which we know at the time of Esther’s “Reveal” Haman did not know. The second reason might be that in general, throughout history, wives took on the religion of their husbands. Therefore, Ahasuerus may not have considered Esther Jewish anymore and hence, irrelevant to Haman and the edict. Either way, she had immunity and wasn’t going to be killed. Haman may have been a genocidal maniac, but he wasn’t going to do anything that would get himself killed, such as demanding the Persian Queen be turned over to him.
If Esther wanted to speak alone with the king, then it’s possible the king would have done the math and concluded Esther wanted the edict against the Jews annulled or at least some relatives and close friends exempted. But the curveball is Esther included Haman in the private invitation for drinks in the palace. Not only that, but Esther leads Ahasuerus to believe the guest of honor is in fact Haman, “If it is good for the king, the king and Haman will come today to a drinking party I have prepared for him.” (5:4). If Haman is included, the king must be thinking that Esther is okay with the genocide edict.
What then does she want? It’s not a new dress or jewels because she likely had independent ways to use her power to acquire such items and you don’t risk your life for such things. Ahasuerus must be thinking hard about why she’s approached him. If she’s not against the edict and wants Haman in her private circle, then it must be about one of the only two things that make the world turn, money or power. What else could it possibly be if not one or both of those two?
If it’s money, the king must be thinking, for Esther to sign off on the genocide of her former people, she must want a piece of the action. Haman promised a vast sum of money to the king and Esther must want some of it in exchange for her silence and/or acceptance. The problem with this theory is that it seems that Ahasuerus has forgiven the money portion of the deal (3:11). The genocide will not cost Haman the steep price of 10,000 silver talents (3:9) that he had been prepared to pay.
That leaves power as our only option. Is Esther about to bargain for her share of the throne and involvement in the decision making? It seems this might be what Ahasuerus was thinking for he says to Esther, “Whatever your petition, it shall be granted, and whatever your request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be performed” (5:6). In other words, the king is telling Esther, she can have half the kingdom, or put another way, half his power, in exchange for her complicity. It’s a sign that Ahasuerus knows why she’s come. He’s smart. He figured it out. But the curveball that threw him off was the inclusion of Haman in Esther’s inner circle. That was a shrewd move by Esther that confused him.
Yet, when Esther had the men’s full, undivided attention, she didn’t ask for anything, but invited them back for a second private party. This is strange. It seems to be contrary to what Esther is trying to achieve, and it’s counterproductive to extend the risk and the possibility of failure for another day. What if the king or Haman says they can’t make it back? Esther is taking an unnecessary risk; therefore, one must conclude this wasn’t part of the plan. Something happened to make her conclude that the first party was the wrong time to reveal herself and her plan to both men. What happened?
Before answering the question, it might be useful to compare Esther’s two sit-downs with another Biblical character, Joseph. When Joseph’s brothers surprisingly appear in Egypt, Joseph first accuses them of spying, then brings them to his chambers and has them served a meal. In Verse 43:31, which I discuss in my essay entitled, “Joseph Washes His Face,” it seems Joseph is about to reveal himself to his brothers but something happens. The Bible says, “he held back,” meaning he changed his mind. It’s very similar to Esther. She’s about to do her own “Reveal” and just like Joseph, she changes her mind on the spot (5:8).
At first blush, the text doesn’t seem to give much information as to why. The only verse to consider is 5:6, where Ahasuerus speaks: “And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine: ‘Whatever your petition, it shall be granted; and whatever your request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be performed.”
It seems possible Esther was feeling up to the task when Ahasuerus said the first part of his statement, “Whatever your petition, it shall be granted.” This was what she was looking for, a carte blanche on her upcoming request. But then, before she can ask, the king steps back from his statement, saying, “Wait, not so fast, I’ve reconsidered and will only give you a maximum of 50% of what you wish.” At this statement, Esther gets frazzled and aborts, feeling the time is wrong to ask. He’s just gone from 100% to 50%. The timing is wrong.
There is a chess game occurring here that has been overlooked. Not only is it a chess game between the king and his queen, but both actors are shrewd and intelligent, a far cry from the dummy Ahasuerus is depicted as being. He thinks he knows what Esther wants, but is thrown off the scent by Haman’s presence. Thus the king concludes she’s after powersharing. He then counters with his “up to 50%” statement and this throws Esther off her game, leading her to gamble on her being able to execute her final moves leading to checkmate the following day.
Let’s return to the subject of what Esther wanted. It’s obvious to any reader she wanted to save the Jews. She achieved this through her successful political moves against Haman, compromising him, removing the edict and ultimately causing Haman and his sons to be hanged. The reader is left feeling Esther was granted her request. But was she after power as well? Did she take the king up on his offer to share up to 50% of the kingdom? Skipping ahead to Chapter 8, Verse 2, the palace dynamic changes after Haman’s capital punishment. Mordecai is given the royal seal and promoted to the Prime Ministership. Did Esther take Ahasuerus up on his offer to share power? It certainly looks like it. When you consider Haman’s rise to power and Ahasuerus’ agreeing to a genocidal edict without even knowing which nation was to be exterminated (3:8-10), Esther guarantees something similar will not happen again – at least to the Jews – while she’s in power. Ahasuerus may be an intelligent king, but his hastiness and blind trust of his officials (1:21, 2:4, 3:10-11, 6:10, 7:9) in his decision-making is his Achilles Heel and she ensures this won’t happen again by becoming a part of the process through Mordecai, if not independently.